Navigating Singapore’s new media environment
July 18, 2008
Below is Gerald Giam’s speech at the Reel Revolution learning talk, organised by The Substation, on 12 July 2008.
Gerald Giam | Deputy Editor
Singapore was ranked 153rd out of 195 countries by Freedom House, in its 2008 report on media freedom. A similar report by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) ranked Singapore 141st out of 169 countries. RSF said that Singapore’s low ranking stemmed from “the complete absence” of independent print and broadcast media and the opposition’s lack of access to those media.
My view is that while Singapore certainly does not have the freest local media in the world, there are plenty of alternative sources of news that Singaporeans can choose from.
Instead of despairing about how “unfree” our media is, I’d like to share with you how much more we, ordinary Singaporeans, can do with the freedoms we have, to carve out a more desirable media environment for Singapore. Read more
Young and old in S’pore want more political openness
July 8, 2008
I find it hard to believe that all the brilliant minds in the Cabinet haven’t figured out that Singaporeans are crying out for change.
Fareed Zakaria, the editor of Newsweek, recently gave an interview with the Straits Times, which was published on Saturday. I applaud ST writer Cheong Suk-Wai and the paper for publishing these frank viewpoints. Here are some gems from the interview:
Singapore is the only rich country in the world without a fully functioning multi-party democracy. That will hobble its advance in the long run, he believes, because people “want not only economic rights, but also freedom of association, freedom of speech and freedom of thought”.
A justice system to protect the strong or the weak?
July 4, 2008
Punishing only the sellers sends a wrong message that our criminal justice system favours the rich and powerful over the poor.
This week, the Singapore courts sentenced two Indonesian men to jail and fined them for selling their kidneys to Singapore residents in two unrelated cases.
According to Channel NewsAsia, 26-year-old Sulaiman Damanik and 27-year-old Toni pleaded guilty to agreeing to sell their kidneys to two patients in Singapore.
Sulaiman was sentenced to two weeks’ jail and a $1,000 fine. Toni was sentenced to a jail term of three and a half months and a fine of $2,000.
Toni had already sold his kidney to an Indonesian woman, Juliana Soh, for over $29,000, while Sulaiman had intended to sell his kidney for $23,700 to CK Tang’s executive chairman Tang Wee Sung. Read more
Religious freedom and its discontents
June 24, 2008
Gerald Giam responds to “Religion and the right not to respect it“.
Freedom of religion is one of the fundamental human rights that most of the world has agreed on — at least in principle. In practice, however, people in many countries continue to face restrictions to varying degrees in the practice of their own faith. In this article, we examine the situation in Singapore.
A universal right
Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) states that:
Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.
The UDHR was adopted by the United Nations (UN) General Assembly in 1948. The UDHR forms the basis for the International Bill of Human Rights which has taken the force of international law since 1976. This means that all 192 member states of the UN are legally obliged to abide by this declaration. Read more
Govt’s graduate equation needs balancing
June 17, 2008
The Government seems to be taking one step forward and two steps back on the issue of university education.
During last year’s National Day Rally speech, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced plans to set up a fourth university in Singapore, targeting 30 per cent of each cohort to enter publicly-funded universities.
However, based on the past week’s news, it appears the Government is now preparing the ground for a possible downgrading of these plans.
More education could mean less growth: Minister
On 11 June, TODAY reported that Singapore Polytechnic had just launched a scholarship programme to groom top students to be future ministers. The report hinted that university degrees may not even be necessary to reach the highest offices in the land. Polytechnic diplomas could suffice. Read more
Judging the judiciary
June 6, 2008
Gerald Giam
“People must have confidence that the judiciary is independent…In order to make sure that we protect the integrity of the judiciary, and to make sure that people’s confidence in the judiciary is not affected, you have to be very, very strict about anyone who attacks the judiciary in scurrilous ways, or calls into question its independence.”
These were the words of newly-minted Law Minister K Shanmugam, when asked for his opinion on the recent convictions of political activists Chee Soon Juan and Chee Siok Chin for contempt of court. (The Straits Times called their actions “attacks on the court”.) Read more
Crisis of leadership in S’pore
May 11, 2008
Mr Viswa Sadasivan, CEO of communications training and consultancy Strategic Moves and renowned social commentator, recently gave a talk where he shared his views about politics in Singapore.
True to his style, Mr Viswa’s off-the-cuff presentation was peppered with witty anecdotes, incisive observations and a strong sense of conviction about what Singapore needs to change in order to reach the next level of development and progress.
New Cabinet line-up throws up some surprises
March 30, 2008
The new Cabinet announced by the Prime Minister’s Office on Saturday evening unveiled some surprises in both promotions and non-promotions.
TOC’s focus on Malaysia
March 25, 2008
The Dawn of a New Malaysian Malaysia?
In the wake of the political tsunami of the recent Malaysian elections which saw the opposition alliance breaking the ruling coalition’s two-thirds majority in Parliament, it has become apparent that the Opposition is serious about reforming the country’s race-based affirmative action policies.
The alliance of opposition parties, Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), Democratic Action Party (DAP), Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS), and their de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim, have stated that they will dismantle the New Economic Policy (NEP) in the states they now control — Penang, Selangor, Perak, Kelantan and Kedah.
Another alleged JI member detained…but where is Mas Selamat?
March 23, 2008
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has announced the detention of another alleged Jemaah Islamiah (JI) member. Rijal Yadri bin Jumari, 27, was arrested in February for his involvement in the JI.
According to MHA, at the time of his arrest, Rijal was known to be working with some foreign JI elements to discuss regrouping and reviving the JI’s clandestine network. Rijal was detained without trial under the Internal Security Act (ISA) on 20 March.
MHA accused Rijal of being a member of the JI’s “Al-Ghuraba” cell. This was a cell set up by the JI leadership to develop its young members to become trained operatives and future leaders in the organisation. MHA says Rijal was schooled at the JI’s madrasahs. He was one of several students talent-spotted by the JI to be groomed to become a future leader in the JI organisation.
